Life long collecting goal accomplished....now what?
 

I have been collecting cards since I was 7 years old in 1969. Like most people I got rid of my collection when I got married, but got back into it after my son was born.

I had one goal in mind..set collecting. I wanted to get one Topps set from every year from today all the way back to 1951. Budget considerations allowed me to exclude the 1952 high numbers from that quest.

I went to the National yesterday with high hopes and finally did it. I now have every Topps card from 1951 -2015. I finished off the 1952 run of #250-310 and picked up a 18953 Mantle. The results rest below..

http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps73no04qd.jpg

The collection also includes a 1954 Bowman and 1955 Bowman set for good measure. There are other sets I've collected, but my main goal has always been the annual sets.

I must admit, it's an odd feeling to consider my quest done. It's almost as disappointing as it is exciting.

So now I have to consider what's next. The 1952 Mantle is out of the question. Never going to happen, so the 52 high numbers aren't really a consideration.

I'll probably work on the Bowman sets from 1948-1950 just to keep an annual run going. I've also considered getting a second set from every year, putting the Leaf and Fleer sets from the 60's into play.

After that...who knows. I doubt I'll be done collecting, but I also doubt it will have the same appeal it has had in the past.

Strange feeling indeed.

very nice, just keep going, you need something just out there in front of you to keep your interest. theres an old saying "what if the dog caught the car?, he wouldnt know what to do with it."

It's simple now you do the same thing but with Bowman =)

Great collection and great idea congrats !!!!

First off, congrats!!! That's quite an accomplishment when you achieve your collecting goal. I won't be able to ever lol.

As for what now, maybe start slowly upgrading to better condition?


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Donruss, Fleer, Score, Upper Deck.:D

Awesome accomplishment! Congratulations! Beautifully displayed and organized. What next? Maybe Topps Football :)

Topps
 

Congratulations Mark. Now you can pursue all the variations and insert and test sets...plus the 5 1951 sets and the 48 subset :)


...and a pack run could be fun

Wow... very impressive. CONGRATULATIONS!

How about the Goudey sets next?

Good luck!

Congrats on the accomplishment!!


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What's next? Sell the Bowman sets and buy a Mantle to start on the rest of the 52s :)

That's an awesome accomplishment, congratulations! I would be pretty tempted to complete the 52 set if I were you. Even though the Mantle is expensive I don't think I could own all of his other Topps cards but not have that one.

Insanely cool project. Congrats!!!

Congrats! I agree, take on the Bowmans. I especially enjoyed building the '50 set.

congrats on your great collection!

my own opinion/recommendation is to take a temporary break from collecting and enjoy the collection you've put together. Maybe once a day/week/whenever sit down and thumb thru one of the sets. Maybe you'll notice a lower condition card that you'd like to upgrade, or maybe you'll see a prewar player that is honored in one of your sets who interests you and you'll decide to start collecting prewar of that player. Don't search for it, let it come to you.

Maybe you'll just continue to pick up the latest Topps set every year going forward and opening packs with your son?

Good luck!
:)

Congrats on completing the run! Must be a blast to simply pick out a binder and flip through the pages, checking out fronts and backs.

C'mon, Al, nobody is THAT crazy. ;)

Great idea!

Yes- Congratulations!

Upgrading is a good option for your next goal...and the great thing about that is that you already have the card, so you can pass unless the price is just right.

I completed Topps 1954-1980 last year and then decided to sell all but 1954-56 - so that's an option as well.

I wished I had done as you did and purchased the sets, but I pieced them together card by card...which, I guess is a little more of an accomplishment (in a way), but much, much more expensive.

I took a big loss on my sale, but the amount was still plenty enough for me to finance a new direction for my collection with a bunch left over.

This worked for me, but honestly, I did not take the time to cherish what I had accomplished - and it helps to have a big coffee-table book that shows all those cards - which is exactly how the process started in the first place.

I guess I should donate the book before all this fun happens again. LOL

Again, Congratulations - Savor the moment!
-Raymond

Goal
 

Congratulations on completing your goal. Why not slowly plug away at the 1952 high numbers? You may never get to the Mantle or the Mathews, but the other cards are out there. You may just have to get them a little slower.

I would find a hobby. :D Awesome accomplishment. Any interest in pre-war? They are addicting to me.

I'd start right in on the most beautiful set ever produced, the 1953 Bowmans ...

That is a Helluva collection of 3-ring Binders.:D

Hmmmm...is there a Monster lurking in the future?

Congrats, always like to see someone complete a mission.

Mark, nice accomplishment! But, are you allergic to pre-WWII cards? :)
Val

I sold mine, and started on another path...

Another path
 

....and now Doug has no idea where he is ....

I've considered expanding my goal into the 1940s. Unfortunately there isn't a set for every year so my OCD would kick in.

I really liked the organization of running through the Topps years.

If I did the 1940s what set should I get for each year?

Congrats!
 

love how you have them organized....

Try on a T206:);)

Impressive accomplishment! Congratulations on this milestone.

or500:D

Give yourself a year. I don't have kids, but I'm guessing parents still do bedtime stories.

If you do those for your son, look up one from the 1952 set each night from Wikipedia or baseball reference and tell him the story from that player. When you find a player that you like, start a player collection of some sort, even branching out from cards.

Also, congratulations on your collecting accomplishment.

Cheers,
Steve

Idea #1
 

You can track down one of a kinds from all of the Topps sets from the Topps Vault. For example, the actual drawings used for the cartoons on the backs of the cards...

Idea #2
 

Pursue at least one non-base Topps set for as many of the years as possible. For example, I would suggest going after the 1978 Burger King Tigers, as it features three rookie cards of should be HOFers (Morris, Whitaker & Trammell) that are much more desirable than their shared 1978 rookie cards...

Congrats!

Now add a pack and box run from those sets!

Idea #3
 

Buy a luxurious mansion and dedicate each of its rooms to a Topps set. I can't post every room of my Topps mansion here because it would be rude to brag, so here is just my 1975 Topps mini room...

Idea #4
 

Stop collecting baseball cards altogether and take up another hobby like looking for freakishly large fruit. For example, you could look for gigantic strawberries and photograph them next to regular strawberries...

Thats awesome bud! Congrats... time to move to a different venture in the hobby. Maybe bats or original photos. There are tons of cool things in the hobby.

That's an amazing accomplishment regardless of your next thing to do.

Have you considered or perhaps you already have done this, but the wrapper and boxes for each set? That would be really cool!

Again kudos!

Cheers,

John

Get them autographed.

Baz....
 

DUDE!:eek: great collection!!! btw....I remember those BK cards :).....

Wonka, that was a great suggestion also:)

everyone else had great suggestions too....

but , trust me, try on a 206 , or like Peter said, 500 or so;)

Congrats on a nice run.....plenty of other sets out there for completing, Post cereal sets are enjoyable to put together as are the Fleer sets from the 60s.

I don't think I have ever seen a room so equally cool and creepy in my life. That Ernie doll gives me the eebie jeebies.

Conor, that is a George Liquor doll. George sometimes appeared on The Ren & Stimpy Show. He isn't considered creepy by everybody, as you can clearly see...

Laughing out loud...

congrats.
not nearly as ambitious but I have a complete run of Topps Cubs from 1951 to present including updates and all possible errors/ variations. Toughest card fot me was the 1957 Gene Baker/ Bakep error card. What was your toughest card?

Amazing feat...I don't even know what to say, other than "Amazing feat...I don't even know what to say!"

Yes indeed, quite an accomplishment! From my personal perspective, I would look at it as having a very large piece of the game's past at my fingertips, and a good time to venture even farther back, back into time to complete the feeling of having the very history of the game you can hold right in your hands!
Nothing like a few Cobbs, Ruths, Gehrigs, Wagners, etc. to spice up the action!

Hope your collecting has brought you the magic mine has,

Larry